Monday, June 02, 2008

POP! The Don is Dead.

Wherein I celebrate the conclusion of reading drudgery and offer you limited control over my life.

Don Quixote is complete! The grind is over! I love reading but there are 2 books now that have challenged me to the point where reading stopped being fun and became a chore. This one and Tender is the Night. I had actually knotted the noose and strung it over the beam before, mercifully, coming to the end of Tender. Don Quixote was just tooo loooong. Not boring, like Tender, or difficult. Just way, way to descriptive of limited action scenes. Basically, the book is 1100 pages long (my version) and there are really only about 7-8 key events that take place. The other pages are filled with repeated descriptions of people mocking Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Amusing but, you know, we get the point already. They’re stooges. Larry, Moe and Curly can convey that in less than 30 seconds. How did Cervantes not expect folks to go ahead and flip on the TV at some point? Honestly.

I did gain one huge benefit from the experience: use of the word “wherein”. I’ve been using it a lot lately and will continue doing so until you all are sick to death of it. I suffered; you will too.

So, what's next? More reading of course.

Hesitantly, I offer you this little control over my life. I wouldn’t trust any of you to babysit my dirty socks but I’m going to step out on a limb here. I can always completely ignore your choice anyhow if I don’t like it. Here’s the next book nominees along with a completely inadequate brief description (provided by BarnesandNoble.com).

Arrow of God (Chinua Achebe)Author of Things Fall Apart, a must read for all and one of my favorite books. “Set in the Ibo heartland of eastern Nigeria, one of Africa's best-known writers describes the conflict between old and new in its most poignant aspect: the personal struggle between father and son.”

Arrowsmith (Sinclair Lewis).One of my favorite writers and one of the few books of his I haven’t read. More satire. I can never get enough. It “recounts the story of a doctor who is forced to give up his trade for reasons ranging from public ignorance to the publicity-mindedness of a great foundation, and becomes an isolated seeker of scientific truth.”

Portnoy’s Complaint (Philip Roth)A risqué choice here. The book promises to use the word ‘masturbation’ a lot so I’ll be doing lots of immature snickering. “This modern classic of the Jewish American experience centers around one Alexander Portnoy, who on the couch of his psychoanalyst, confesses everything from his adolescent preoccupation with masturbation to his subjugation by his dominating mother, Sophie.”

Slash (autobiography)Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll? ‘Nuff said. This is an autobiography I can relate to…except mine would be called Soda Pop, Couch, and Conformity.

Please cast your ballot below. If you select ‘other’, you will be required to put a title in the comments.

I voted for Slash. After that long slog through Cervantes I think you need a break. I learned never to read two weighty classics back-to-back when I did a tour of Russia via The Brothers Karamazov and War and Peace. If I hadn't already read Anna Karenina I might have thrown that in there, too. But, ugh, if the Bros. Karamazov wasn't bad enough than I had to go straight into W&P??? What was I thinking, only bringing those two books and nothing else on my 5-week geology field camp? I thought it would be a good way to boost my literary knowledge. I should have just read Clan of the Cave Bear for the tenth time. Go with Slash. I think your brain will like you better.

I was hesitant to vote at first because I didn't want to the idiot that put in the only vote for a not-so-good book...but now that I did...my came out to be the most popular choice! Cool! It's like winning at Family Feud! Survey says...I know what I'm talking about!

Congrats on finishing DQ...I felt similar when I finally finished it...wanted a drink. :P Still, it was good and I'm glad I read it (now I can use quixotic in a sentence--see? I just did). Good luck with the next one. Alas, no suggestions to offer since I haven't read any of them. :)